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Larry Gemmel

Larry Gemmel
Larry Gemmel has more than 25 years of experience in the voluntary non-profit sector, working with United Way - Centraide organizations in Canada and internationally and as the Executive Director of several pan-Canadian organizations. He has done work for Tamarack Institute as a freelance writer. He has considerable expertise in non-profit and voluntary sector development, management, project management, governance, and specializes in building networks, knowledge transfer, and the successful application of technology.

Recent Posts

Community-Campus Partnerships

Posted by Larry Gemmel on November 24, 2014

Universities and Colleges in Canada are rich in resources that are often in short supply in the community sector: Knowledge, research capacity, and the energy and enthusiasm of students. So how can we mobilize this potential on behalf of our communities?

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Melody Barnes at the Collective Impact Summit

Posted by Larry Gemmel on October 25, 2014

As the opening keynote speaker at the Collective Impact Summit held in Toronto 6-10 October, Melody Barnes brought considerable political insight and experience to the question of Why Collective Impact and Why Now? Barnes, who served as assistant to US President Barack Obama and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council from 2009 to January 2012, was a key player in creating the White House Council for Community Solutions, which was established by the President in 2010 to seek solutions to America’s most serious problems, which the President felt certain would be found in local communities and not in Washington. 

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John Kania at the Collective Impact Summit

Posted by Larry Gemmel on October 25, 2014

It is always a pleasure to see and hear John Kania speak.  In fact one participant at the recent Collective Impact Summit hosted by Tamarack in Toronto called Kania a “Rockstar” and I think the tribute is appropriate - John is a compelling speaker and certainly inspiring with his wonderful mix of clear conceptual thinking, rigorous research, real-life examples, and practical advice. 

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Brenda Zimmerman at the Collective Impact Summit

Posted by Larry Gemmel on October 25, 2014

Brenda Zimmerman is concerned about why some Collective Impact initiatives are falling short of expectations.  She believes that part of the problem is that leaders are “Snapping Back” to old habits and inappropriate modes of management and not recognizing the kind of ecological resilience needed to address complex issues.  In her keynote presentation to the Collective Impact Summit convened by Tamarack in Toronto 6-10 October, she talked about how to understand change in complex social systems, the type of resilience that is needed to address this, and how to mitigate the risks of “Snap Back”.

Managers would rather live with a problem they can’t solve than with a solution they can’t fully understand or control.” - Eric Bonobeau, researcher in swarm intelligence and CEO of Icosystems 

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Jay Connor at the Collective Impact Summit

Posted by Larry Gemmel on October 25, 2014

Joseph “Jay” Connor brings considerable business success and experience to the challenges of creating community change.  Born in Dublin, Ireland, Jay grew up in Chicago and went on to assume senior management roles in two multi-billion dollar corporations: ADT Security Systems and Johnson Controls.  In the mid 1990’s Jay had an epiphany, sold his business, and decided to take his organizational expertise and devote himself to the nonprofit sector.  In conversation with Mark Cabaj at the Collective Impact Summit hosted by Tamarack in Toronto 6-10 October 2014, Jay described the problem he felt was facing the sector: “At that time (1994), we thought the organizations just needed to work better.  But when we went out to see if communities were better off, we couldn’t find any correlation.  I realized that while peak performing organizations are needed, they are not sufficient.”

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